The disclosure relates to hand-held power tools, and particularly to tools having an oscillating cutting blade.
Hand-held oscillating power tools are very useful for performing cuts and other operations that cannot be achieved with rotary power tools, such as rotary saws. For instance, oscillating tools are very well-suited for making flush cuts, and are useful to perform various sanding and grout removal operations. One known oscillating power tool 10 is shown in FIGS. 1B, 1C performing two types of cuts in a workpiece surface S. Oscillating tools do not include a substantial foot for supporting and guiding the tool as the blade is moved across the work surface. In contrast, circular saws are provided with a substantial foot to support the weight of the tool and to provide a solid plane to counteract cutting forces
In order for the teeth of the cutting blade of an oscillating tool to cut through a workpiece, the angle of the tool body and the depth of the blade within the workpiece must coincide in order for the blade to work through the thickness of the workpiece. However, oscillating blades are typically very thin in order to keep the oscillating inertia to a minimum. The thin blades tend to bend and curve when cutting through a workpiece, particularly since the oscillating tool is not provided with a solid support foot. On the other hand, adding a large foot, as found on a circular saw, adds friction that hampers the ability to move the tool along the workpiece surface, and adds inertia that makes the tool unwieldy when trying to compensate for the blade curving.
Oscillating tools are often provided with accessories to add a depth guide or a foot. For instance, accessories 11 shown in FIG. 1A may be provided for attachment to a tool, such as the tool 10. The accessories include a mounting collar 15 that is clamped to a surface of the power tool adjacent the blade drive. The collar includes a fixture 16 for mounting a depth guide 18, shown in use in FIG. 1B, and a foot 19, shown in use in FIG. 1C. The foot 19 includes an adjustable shaft 19a that is engaged in the fixture 16 to provide a variable distance of the foot 19 from the tool 10. Both accessories 18, 19 provide means to control the depth of the cutting blade of the tool into the workpiece surface S. However, neither accessory provides the same level of support and load bearing capability found in the circular saw foot, and neither accessory provides means for supporting the oscillating power tool at an optimum angle relative to the workpiece surface.